Systems and methods of battery management and control for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed that include: determining, by a controller, an estimated propulsion power for a vehicle at a future location of a route at a future time based on at least one of internal information regarding the vehicle, external static information regarding the route of the vehicle, or external dynamic information regarding one or more upcoming potential conditions along the route of the vehicle; determining, by the controller, a current state of charge of a battery; determining, by the controller, a desired state of charge of the battery at the future location without substantially changing an output power of an engine of the vehicle; and facilitating, by the controller, charging of the battery of the vehicle to achieve the desired state of charge of the battery at the future location without substantially changing the output power of the engine of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/247,339 filed on Dec. 8, 2020, and titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OFBATTERY MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL FOR A VEHICLE,” which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/750,346 filed Feb. 5, 2018, andtitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF BATTERY MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL FOR AVEHICLE,” which is a U.S. national stage filing of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2016/045608 filed Aug. 4, 2016, and titled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF BATTERY MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL FOR A VEHICLE,”which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/202,264, filed Aug. 7, 2015, and titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OFBATTERY MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL FOR A VEHICLE,” all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties and for allpurposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to control strategies of powertrainsystems for a vehicle. More particularly, the present disclosure relatesto control strategies of electrified powertrain systems for vehicles.

BACKGROUND

In a vehicle, the powertrain or powertrain system refers to thecomponents that provide the power to propel the vehicle. Thesecomponents include the engine, transmission, drive/propeller shaft,differentials, and final drive. In operation and for an internalcombustion engine, the engine combusts a fuel to generate mechanicalpower in the form of a rotating a crankshaft. The transmission receivesthe rotating crankshaft and manipulates the engine speed (i.e., therotation of the crankshaft) to control a rotation speed of thedrive/propeller shaft, which is also coupled to the transmission. Therotating drive shaft is received by a differential, which transmits therotational power to a final drive (e.g., wheels) to effect a movement ofthe vehicle. In an automobile, the differential enables the wheels, on ashared axle, to rotate at different speeds (e.g., during a turn, theouter wheel spins faster relative to the inner wheel to allow thevehicle to maintain its speed and line of travel).

In regard to a hybrid vehicle, conventional hybrid engine systemsgenerally include both an electric motor and an internal combustionengine that are capable of powering the drivetrain in order to propelthe car. A hybrid vehicle can have various configurations. For example,in a parallel configuration both the electric motor and the internalcombustion engine are operably connected to the drivetrain/transmissionto propel the vehicle. In a series configuration, the electric motor isoperably connected to the drivetrain/transmission and the internalcombustion engine indirectly powers the drivetrain/transmission bypowering the electric motor.

In typical operation of the hybrid vehicle, the electric motor isdischarged on demand or according to one more predefined controlstrategies. For example, some hybrid vehicles may turn off the internalcombustion engine at prolonged stops and solely use the electric motorto provide the initial acceleration when an acceleration demand iscommanded. While effective, these conventional hybrid vehicles usestatic control methodologies that leave more robust energy managementand control strategies to be desired.

SUMMARY

One embodiment relates to an apparatus. The apparatus includes aninternal information module structured to receive internal informationregarding operation of a hybrid vehicle. The apparatus also includes anexternal static information module structured to obtain external staticinformation for a route of the vehicle, wherein the external staticinformation is based on a position of the hybrid vehicle on the route.The apparatus further includes an external dynamic information modulestructured to receive external dynamic information for the route of thehybrid vehicle, wherein the external dynamic information is based on theposition and a time of travel of the hybrid vehicle at the position. Theapparatus yet further includes a battery management module communicablycoupled to each of the internal information module, the external staticinformation module, and the external dynamic information module.According to one embodiment, the battery management module includes: apropulsion power module structured to determine a potential propulsionpower for the hybrid vehicle at a particular location for a particulartime on the route based on at least one of the internal information, theexternal static information, and the external dynamic information; and abattery state of charge module structured to manage a state of charge ofa battery of the hybrid vehicle at the particular location at theparticular time based on the determined potential propulsion power.

Another embodiment relates to an apparatus. The apparatus includes abattery management module of a hybrid vehicle, wherein the batterymanagement module is communicably coupled to at least one of an internalinformation module, an external static information module, and anexternal dynamic information module. According to one embodiment, thebattery management module includes: a propulsion power module structuredto determine a potential propulsion power for the hybrid vehicle at aparticular location on the route based on at least one of internalinformation from the internal information module, external staticinformation from the external static information module, and externaldynamic information from the external dynamic information module; and abattery state of charge module structured to manage a state of charge ofa battery of the hybrid vehicle at the particular location based on thedetermined potential propulsion power.

Yet another embodiment relates to an apparatus. The apparatus includes abattery management module for a hybrid vehicle. According to oneembodiment, the battery management module includes: a propulsion powermodule structured to determine a potential propulsion power for thehybrid vehicle at a particular location of a route of the hybrid vehicleat a particular time based on at least one of internal informationregarding the hybrid vehicle, external static information regarding theroute of the hybrid vehicle, and external dynamic information regardingone or more upcoming potential conditions along the route of the hybridvehicle; and a battery state of charge module structured to manage astate of charge of a battery of the hybrid vehicle at the particularlocation at the particular time based on the determined potentialpropulsion power.

Still another embodiment relates to a method. The method includesreceiving, by a controller of a hybrid vehicle, internal hybrid vehicleinformation, external static information, and external dynamicinformation; determining, by the controller of the hybrid vehicle, apropulsion power for the hybrid vehicle at a particular location at aparticular time based on at least one of the internal hybrid vehicleinformation, the external static information, and the external dynamicinformation; determining, by the controller, a current state of chargeof a battery, wherein the battery is operatively coupled to an electricmotor in the hybrid vehicle; and managing, by the controller, the stateof charge of the battery at the particular location at the particulartime based on the current state of charge and the determined propulsionpower.

Still another embodiment relates to a method. The method includesreceiving, by a controller of a hybrid vehicle, external dynamicinformation for a vehicle indicative of at least one of a marketcharacteristic and a market regulation; managing, by the controller, astate of charge of a battery of the hybrid vehicle based on at least oneof the market characteristic and market regulation; and selectivelyadjusting, by the controller, a state of charge reference point of thebattery based on an instruction received from a remote device.Advantageously, the method may provide and facilitate optimizedmanagement of the state of charge of the battery over a trip or route ofthe hybrid vehicle.

Yet another embodiment relates to a method. The method includesreceiving, by a controller of a hybrid vehicle, at least one of internalinformation, external static information, and external dynamicinformation; managing, by the controller, a state of charge of a batteryof the hybrid vehicle based on at least one of the internal information,external static information, and external dynamic information; andselectively adjusting, by the controller, a state of charge of thebattery based on an instruction received from a remote device. Accordingto one embodiment, the external dynamic information includes acalibration set point for the controller, wherein the calibration setpoint is determined by a remote controller using at least one of theexternal dynamic information, external static information, and internalinformation.

Another embodiment relates to a system. The system includes a batteryfor use in a vehicle; and a controller communicably and operativelycoupled to the battery. According to one embodiment, the controller isstructured to: receive at least one of the internal vehicle information,external static information, and external dynamic information; determinea propulsion power for the vehicle at a particular location at aparticular time based on at least one of the internal vehicleinformation, the external static information, and the external dynamicinformation; determine a current state of charge of a battery; andmanage a state of charge of the battery at the particular location atthe particular time based on the current state of charge and thedetermined propulsion power.

These and other features, together with the organization and manner ofoperation thereof, will become apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an intelligent transportation system,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the controller used with the vehicle ofFIG. 1 , according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method of optimally controlling the powersplit between an internal combustion engine and an electric motor viamanagement of a battery state of charge in a vehicle, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of managing a battery state ofcharge in a vehicle in response to various pieces of external dynamicinformation, according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of thedisclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated inthe drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. Itwill nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of thedisclosure is thereby intended, any alterations and furthermodifications in the illustrated embodiments, and any furtherapplications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated thereinas would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which thedisclosure relates are contemplated herein.

Referring to the Figures generally, the various embodiments disclosedherein relate to systems and methods of managing and controlling abattery state of charge to meet a determined and/or predicted poweroutput based on internal vehicle information, static external vehicleinformation (e.g., information that may change with distance but notwith time), and dynamic external vehicle information (e.g., informationthat may change with time) for at least a partial hybrid vehicle (e.g.,a vehicle that has an electrified powertrain). According to the presentdisclosure, a controller may be communicably coupled to one or moreexternal data providing sources (e.g., a telematics system provider,another vehicle via a Vehicle-to-Vehicle network, a Vehicle-to-Xnetwork, etc.), such that the controller may receive data and have aknowledge of one or more upcoming conditions for the vehicle. Based onthese conditions, the controller may determine a power output requiredor that may be required to traverse these conditions. In response, thecontroller may adjust, manage, or otherwise control a battery state ofcharge for managing the power output from the electric motor inconnection with the engine to efficiently or optimally operate thevehicle according to one or more desired operating conditions (e.g., anemissions condition, a fuel economy condition, an energy capturecondition, etc.). For example, the controller may receive dataindicative of at least one of a change in road grade and a speed limitat a particular location at a particular time and in response, determinea propulsion power to traverse the particular location at the particulartime based on the data and a power change relative to the currentpropulsion power. Based on these determinations, the controller maymanage the battery state of charge in advance of the vehicle traversingthis particular location at the particular time to optimally operatevehicle. As mentioned above, this may be based on one or more predefinedoperating parameters for the vehicle. For example, the controller maydischarge the battery in advance of a downhill grade in order to capturea maximum or a substantially maximum amount of energy from vehiclebraking (e.g., a regenerative braking system) during traversal of thedownhill grade. Advantageously, the discharging of the battery may occurin a location where the discharge may otherwise have not occurred duringconventional operation, which may reduce fuel consumption and improveemissions of the vehicle. These and other features of the presentdisclosure are described more fully herein below.

As used herein, the phrase “state of charge” (SOC) refers to the chargelevel of the battery (i.e., a current battery capacity versus themaximum battery capacity, usually expressed as a percentage). As alsoused herein, “battery capacity” refers to the amount of charge a batterycan deliver for a specific amount of time (expressed in ampere-hours).For example, a 100 ampere-hours capacity refers to a battery that candeliver 5 amperes for 20 hours (5 amperes*20 hours=100 ampere-hours). Asalso used herein, the phrase “battery life” refers to at least one of ashelf life of a battery (i.e., how long a battery can remain operationalbefore not satisfying specific performance criteria) and a cycle life ofa battery (i.e., how many charge-discharge cycles a battery can endurebefore not satisfying specific performance criteria). Specificperformance criteria may include any predefined acceptable operatingrange for the battery. For example, a battery that is only capable of 75ampere-hours from its original 100 ampere-hours may be deemed to notmeet the minimum performance criteria of 80 ampere-hours. The acceptableperformance criteria may be defined in regard to other variables and/orcharacteristics of the battery as well. Also, as used herein, the phrase“state of health” (SOH) refers to the current state of battery life.Whereas SOC refers to the current level of charge in the battery, theSOH refers to the amount of charge a battery can hold (typically,expressed as a percentage in relation to an original amount of chargecapacity of the battery).

Referring now generally to FIG. 1 , a schematic diagram of anintelligent transportation system is shown according to one embodiment.The intelligent transportation system (ITS) 50 is structured to providean environment that facilitates and allows the exchange of informationor data (e.g., communications) between a vehicle, such as vehicle 100,and one or more other components or sources. In this regard and forexample, the ITS 50 may include telematics systems that facilitate theacquisition and transmission of data acquired regarding the operation ofthe vehicle 100. As shown and generally speaking, the ITS 50 includes avehicle 100 communicably coupled via a network 51 to each of an externalstatic information source 170 and an external dynamic information source180, where the term “external” refers to a component or system outsideof the vehicle 100. The information/data may be stored inside or outsideof the vehicle 100.

The network 51 may be any type of communication protocol thatfacilitates the exchange of information between and among the vehicle100 and the external static and dynamic information sources 170 and 180.In this regard, the network 51 may communicably couple the vehicle 100with each of the external static and dynamic information sources 170 and180. In one embodiment, the network 51 may be configured as a wirelessnetwork. In this regard, the vehicle 100 may wirelessly transmit andreceive data from at least one of the external static and dynamicinformation sources 170 and 180. The wireless network may be any type ofwireless network, such as Wi-Fi, WiMax, Geographical Information System(GIS), Internet, Radio, Bluetooth, Zigbee, satellite, radio, Cellular,Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet RadioService (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), light signaling, etc. In analternate embodiment, the network 51 may be configured as a wirednetwork or a combination of wired and wireless protocol. For example,the controller 150 and/or telematics unit 130 of the vehicle 100 mayelectrically, communicably, and/or operatively couple via a fiber opticcable to the network 51 to selectively transmit and receive datawirelessly to and from at least one of the external static and dynamicinformation sources 170 and 180.

The external static information source 170 may be any information (e.g.,data, value, etc.) provider capable of providing external staticinformation, where external static information refers to information ordata that may vary as a function of position (e.g., the curvature orgrade of the road may vary along a route) but is substantiallyunchanging with respect to time. In this regard, the external staticinformation source 170 may include one or more map based databases 172,where the map based database 172 includes static information including,but not limited to, road grade data (e.g., the road grade at variousspots along various routes), speed limit data (e.g., posted speed limitsin various road locations), elevation or altitude data at various pointsalong a route, curvature data at various points along a route, locationof intersections along a route, etc. It should be understood that thepresent disclosure contemplates other sources of external staticinformation (e.g., a global positioning system satellite that provideslatitude, longitude, and/or elevation data), such that the databaseconfiguration is not meant to be limiting or intended to be the onlytype of static information source contemplated.

The external dynamic information source 180 may be any external dynamicinformation (e.g., data, value, etc.) provider, where external dynamicinformation refers to information or data that may vary as a function ofboth time and location (e.g., weather conditions). In this regard, theexternal dynamic information source 180 may include any source capableof providing the external dynamic information. Accordingly, the externaldynamic information source 180 may include vehicle-to-vehicle 182communications. In this regard, the vehicle 100 may communicate with oneor more other vehicles directly (e.g., via NFC, etc.) to obtain dataregarding one or more upcoming conditions for the vehicle 100. Inanother embodiment, the external dynamic information source 182 mayinclude a vehicle-to-X 184 configuration, where the “X” refers to anyremote information providing source. For example and as shown in FIG. 1, the remote information providing source may include one or moreservers, computers, mobile devices, etc. Accordingly, the externaldynamic information may include, but is not limited to, a trafficdensity at a particular location at a particular time, a weathercondition at a particular location at a particular time, a fuel price ata particular location at a particular time, an electricity cost at aparticular location at a particular time, etc. In this regard, theexternal dynamic information may provide an indication of at least oneof a market characteristic and regulation at a particular location at aparticular time. The market characteristic may include, but is notlimited to, a fuel price, an electricity cost, electrical charginglocations, and so. The market regulation may include, but is not limitedto, an emission regulation (e.g., a permissible NOx and CO amount,etc.), a braking regulation (e.g., no engine braking, etc.), a noiseregulation, and so on. The market characteristics and regulations may beclassified under external dynamic information due to the potentiality ofchange over time. However, in other embodiments, the marketcharacteristics and regulations may alternatively be classified underexternal static information for the nature of these data points may besubstantially non-changing with respect to extended periods of time.Like the external static information sources 170, it should beunderstood that the present disclosure contemplates other sources ofexternal dynamic information sources, such that the depicted examplesare not meant to be limiting or intended to be the only type of dynamicinformation source contemplated.

Referring now to the vehicle 100 of FIG. 1 , the vehicle 100 iscommunicably coupled with each of the external static and dynamicsources 170, 180 via the network 51. In the embodiment depicted, thevehicle 100 is structured as a hybrid vehicle having an internalcombustion engine 101 power source and a motor/generator 106 powersource. The vehicle 100 may be configured as any type of hybrid-poweredvehicle (e.g., a full electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid vehicle, etc.).As such, the vehicle 100 may be configured as an on-road or an off-roadvehicle including, but not limited to, line-haul trucks, mid-rangetrucks (e.g., pick-up truck), tanks, airplanes, and any other type ofvehicle that utilizes a transmission. Before delving into theparticulars of the ITS 50 in regard to the vehicle 100, the variouscomponents of the vehicle 100 may be described as follows. The vehicle100 is shown to generally include a powertrain system 110, an exhaustaftertreatment system 120, a telematics unit 130, a diagnostic andprognostic system 135, an operator input/output (I/O) device 140, one ormore electrified accessories 190, and a controller 150, where thecontroller 150 is communicably coupled to each of the aforementionedcomponents.

The powertrain system 110 facilitates power transfer from the engine 101and/or motor generator 106 to power and/or propel the vehicle 100. Thepowertrain system 110 includes an engine 101 and a motor generator 106operably coupled to a transmission 102 that is operatively coupled to adrive shaft 103, which is operatively coupled to a differential 104,where the differential 104 transfers power output from the engine 101and/or motor generator 106 to the final drive (shown as wheels 105) topropel the vehicle 100. In this regard, the powertrain system 110 isstructured as an electrified powertrain. The electrified powertrainincludes the motor generator 106, where the motor generator 106 mayinclude a torque assist feature, a regenerative braking energy captureability, a power generation ability, and any other feature of motorgenerators used in hybrid vehicles. In this regard, the motor generator106 may be any conventional motor generator that is capable ofgenerating electricity and produce a power output to drive thetransmission 102. The motor generator 106 may also include a powerconditioning device such as an inverter and a motor controller.

The electrified powertrain may also include any one or more of severalelectrified accessories 190 including, but not limited to, anelectrically driven/controlled air compressor, an electricallydriven/controlled engine cooling fan, an electrically driven/controlledheating venting and air conditioning system, an alternator, etc., wherethe controllability may stem from the controller 150. As shown, theelectrified accessories 190 may also include one or more controllableaerodynamic devices 192. The one or more aerodynamic devices 192 mayinclude, but are not limited to, an active spoiler (as opposed to apassive spoiler that is fixedly attached to the vehicle), active trailerfairings for a semi-tractor trailer, an active cabin roof fairing, andso on. In one embodiment, the one or more aerodynamic devices 192 areelectrically coupled to the battery 107, such that the one or moreaerodynamic devices 192 (and accessories 190 in generally) may be atleast partially powered by the battery 107. It should be understood thatthe present disclosure contemplates any and all other types ofelectrically-powered accessories 190 and aerodynamic devices 192 thatmay be a part of the powertrain system 110 and/or separate from thepowertrain system 110 but included in the vehicle 100.

As a brief overview, the engine 101 receives a chemical energy input(e.g., a fuel such as gasoline or diesel) and combusts the fuel togenerate mechanical energy, in the form of a rotating crankshaft. Incomparison, the motor generator 106 may be in a power receivingrelationship with an energy source, such as battery 107 that provides aninput energy (and stores generated electrical energy) to the motorgenerator 106 for the motor generator 106 to output in the form ofuseable work or energy to in some instances propel the vehicle 100 aloneor in combination with the engine 101. In this configuration, the hybridvehicle 100 has a parallel drive configuration. However, it should beunderstood, that other configurations of the vehicle 100 are intended tofall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure (e.g., aseries configuration and non-hybrid applications, such as a fullelectric vehicle, etc.). As a result of the power output from at leastone of the engine 101 and the motor generator 106, the transmission 102may manipulate the speed of the rotating input shaft (e.g., thecrankshaft) to achieve a desired drive shaft 103 speed. The rotatingdrive shaft 103 is received by a differential 104, which provides therotation energy of the drive shaft 103 to the final drive 105. The finaldrive 105 then propels or moves the vehicle 100.

The engine 101 may be structured as any internal combustion engine(e.g., compression-ignition or spark-ignition), such that it can bepowered by any fuel type (e.g., diesel, ethanol, gasoline, etc.).Similarly, although termed a ‘motor generator’ 106 throughout the pagesof the disclosure, thus implying its ability to operate as both a motorand a generator, it is contemplated that the motor generator component,in some embodiments, may be an electric generator separate from theelectric motor of the hybrid vehicle 100. Furthermore, the transmission102 may be structured as any type of transmission, such as a continuousvariable transmission, a manual transmission, an automatic transmission,an automatic-manual transmission, a dual clutch transmission, etc.Accordingly, as transmissions vary from geared to continuousconfigurations (e.g., continuous variable transmission), thetransmission can include a variety of settings (gears, for a gearedtransmission) that affect different output speeds based on the enginespeed. Like the engine 101 and the transmission 102, the drive shaft103, differential 104, and final drive 105 may be structured in anyconfiguration dependent on the application (e.g., the final drive 105 isstructured as wheels in an automotive application and a propeller in anairplane application). Further, the drive shaft 103 may be structured asa one-piece, two-piece, and a slip-in-tube driveshaft based on theapplication.

Moreover, the battery 107 may be configured as any type of rechargeable(i.e., primary) battery and of any size. That is to say, the battery 107may be structured as any type of electrical energy storing and providingdevice, such as one or more capacitors (e.g., ultra-capacitors, etc.)and/or one or more batteries typically used or that may be used inhybrid vehicles (e.g., Lithium-ion batteries, Nickel-Metal Hydridebatteries, Lead-acid batteries, etc.). The battery 107 may beoperatively and communicably coupled to the controller 150 to providedata indicative of one or more operating conditions or traits of thebattery 107. The data may include a temperature of the battery, acurrent into or out of the battery, a number of charge-discharge cycles,a battery voltage, etc. As such, the battery 107 may include one or moresensors coupled to the battery 107 that acquire such data. In thisregard, the sensors may include, but are not limited to, voltagesensors, current sensors, temperature sensors, etc.

As also shown, the vehicle 100 includes an exhaust aftertreatment system120 in fluid communication with the engine 101. The exhaustaftertreatment system 120 receives the exhaust from the combustionprocess in the engine 101 and reduces the emissions from the engine 101to less environmentally harmful emissions (e.g., reduce the NOx amount,reduce the emitted particulate matter amount, etc.). The exhaustaftertreatment system 120 may include any component used to reducediesel exhaust emissions, such as a selective catalytic reductioncatalyst, a diesel oxidation catalyst, a diesel particulate filter, adiesel exhaust fluid doser with a supply of diesel exhaust fluid, and aplurality of sensors for monitoring the system 120 (e.g., a NOx sensor).It should be understood that other embodiments may exclude an exhaustaftertreatment system and/or include different, less than, and/oradditional components than that listed above. All such variations areintended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The vehicle 100 is also shown to include a telematics unit 130. Thetelematics unit 130 may be structured as any type of telematics controlunit. Accordingly, the telematics unit 130 may include, but is notlimited to, a location positioning system (e.g., global positioningsystem) to track the location of the vehicle (e.g., latitude andlongitude data, elevation data, etc.), one or more memory devices forstoring the tracked data, one or more electronic processing units forprocessing the tracked data, and a communications interface forfacilitating the exchange of data between the telematics unit 130 andone or more remote devices (e.g., a provider/manufacturer of thetelematics device, etc.). In this regard, the communications interfacemay be configured as any type of mobile communications interface orprotocol including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi, WiMax, Internet, Radio,Bluetooth, Zigbee, satellite, radio, Cellular, GSM, GPRS, LTE, and thelike. The telematics unit 130 may also include a communicationsinterface for communicating with the controller 150 of the vehicle 100.The communication interface for communicating with the controller 150may include any type and number of wired and wireless protocols (e.g.,any standard under IEEE 802, etc.). For example, a wired connection mayinclude a serial cable, a fiber optic cable, an SAE J1939 bus, a CAT5cable, or any other form of wired connection. In comparison, a wirelessconnection may include the Internet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, cellular,radio, etc. In one embodiment, a controller area network (CAN) busincluding any number of wired and wireless connections provides theexchange of signals, information, and/or data between the controller 150and the telematics unit 130. In other embodiments, a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or an external computer (for example,through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) may provide,facilitate, and support communication between the telematics unit 130and the controller 150. In still another embodiment, the communicationbetween the telematics unit 130 and the controller 150 is via theunified diagnostic services (UDS) protocol. All such variations areintended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

The vehicle 100 is also shown to include a diagnostic and prognosticunit 135. In one embodiment, the diagnostic and prognostic unit 135 maybe configured as any type of on-board detection system (e.g., OBD II,OBD I, EOBD, JOBD, etc.). In another embodiment, the diagnostic andprognostic unit 135 may be structured as any type diagnostic andprognostic unit included with a vehicle. Accordingly, the diagnostic andprognostic unit 135 may be communicably coupled to one or more sensors,physical or virtual, positioned throughout the vehicle 100 such that thediagnostic and prognostic unit 135 may receive date indicative of one ormore fault conditions, potential symptoms, and/or operating conditionsto determine a status of a component (e.g., healthy, problematic,malfunctioning, etc.). If the diagnostic and prognostic unit 135 detectsa fault, the diagnostic and prognostic unit 135 may trigger a fault codeand provide an indication to the operator input/output device 140 of thevehicle (e.g., a check engine light, etc.).

The operator input/output device 140 enables an operator of the vehicleto communicate with the vehicle 100 and the controller 150. For example,the operator input/output device 140 may include, but is not limited, aninteractive display (e.g., a touchscreen, etc.), an accelerator pedal, aclutch pedal, a shifter for the transmission, a cruise control inputsetting, etc.

Via the input/output device 140, the operator can designate preferredcharacteristics of one or more vehicle parameters. In this regard, theoperator may define or directly affect one or more power splitcharacteristics for the engine 101 and motor generator 106 of the hybridvehicle. For example, the operator may desire to minimize fuelconsumption of the engine 101. In another example, the operator maydesire to minimize an emissions amount from the engine 101. In stillanother example, the operator may desire to maintain or substantiallymaintain a noise output from the vehicle below a threshold or within arange. In yet another example, the operator may desire to minimize atotal cost of ownership of the vehicle (e.g., minimize an electricalenergy and fuel consumption cost to reduce the cost-to-own of thevehicle). As mentioned above, these predefined desires may impact thepower split characteristic. For example, to minimize fuel consumption,the controller 150 may actively manage the battery SOC to facilitate arelatively more active and higher power output from the motor generator106 to reduce the reliance on the engine 101. In a similar example, tominimize an emissions amount, the controller 150 may also manage thebattery SOC to facilitate a relatively more active and higher poweroutput from the motor generator 106 to reduce the emissions from theengine 101. In turn, the power split between the motor generator 106 andthe engine 101 may be adjusted to meet or substantially meet on or morepredefined operating parameters for the vehicle. It should be understoodthat the aforementioned list is not meant to be limiting as the presentdisclosure contemplates various other types of desired operatingparameters and subsequently power splits are intended to fall within thespirit and scope of the present disclosure.

As shown, the controller 150 is communicably coupled to the powertrainsystem 110, the exhaust aftertreatment system 120, the telematics unit130, the diagnostic and prognostic unit 135, and the operatorinput/output device 140. Communication between and among the componentsmay be via any number of wired or wireless connections. For example, awired connection may include a serial cable, a fiber optic cable, a CAT5cable, or any other form of wired connection. In comparison, a wirelessconnection may include the Internet, Wi-Fi, cellular, radio, etc. In oneembodiment, a CAN bus provides the exchange of signals, information,and/or data. The CAN bus includes any number of wired and wirelessconnections. Because the controller 150 is communicably coupled to thesystems and components in the vehicle 100 of FIG. 1 , the controller 150is structured to receive data (e.g., instructions, commands, signals,values, etc.) from one or more of the components shown in FIG. 1 . Thismay generally be referred to as internal vehicle information 160 (e.g.,data, values, etc.). The internal vehicle 160 information representsdetermined, acquired, predicted, estimated, and/or gathered dataregarding one or more components in vehicle 100.

Accordingly, the internal vehicle information 160 may include dataregarding the battery 107. As mentioned above, the data regarding thebattery 107 may include, but is not limited to, a temperature of thebattery, a current into or out of the battery, a number ofcharge-discharge cycles, a battery state of charge, a battery voltage,etc. The internal vehicle information 160 may also include informationfrom the diagnostic and prognostic unit 135, which may include, but isnot limited to, one or more fault codes, data identifiers, diagnostictrouble codes, and so on. The internal vehicle information 160 may alsoinclude data regarding the motor generator 106. Data regarding the motorgenerator 106 may include, but is not limited to, a power consumptionrate, a power output rate, an hours of operation amount, a temperature,etc. The internal vehicle information 160 may further include dataregarding the one or more electrified accessories 190 and aerodynamicdevices 192, such as a power consumption rate, a current operationstatus (e.g., active or inactive, operational or symptomatic, etc.), andso on. The internal vehicle information 160 may also include other dataregarding the powertrain system 110 (and other components in the vehicle100). For example, the data regarding the powertrain system 110 mayinclude, but is not limited to, the vehicle speed, the currenttransmission gear/setting, the load on the vehicle/engine, the throttleposition, a set cruise control speed, data relating to the exhaustaftertreatment system 120, output power, engine speed, fluid consumptionrate (e.g., fuel consumption rate, diesel exhaust fluid consumptionrate, etc.), engine operating characteristics (e.g., whether all thecylinders are activated or which cylinders are deactivated, etc.), etc.Data relating to the exhaust aftertreatment system 120 includes, but isnot limited to, NOx emissions, particulate matter emissions, andconversion efficiency of one or more catalysts in the system 120 (e.g.,the selective catalytic reduction catalyst).

The internal vehicle information may be stored by the controller 150 andselectively transmitted to one or more desired sources (e.g., anothervehicle such as in a vehicle-to-vehicle communication session, a remoteoperator, etc.). In other embodiments, the controller 150 may providethe internal vehicle information 160 to the telematics unit 130 wherebythe telematics unit transmits the internal vehicle information 160 toone or more desired sources (e.g., a remote device, an operator of thetelematics unit, etc.). All such variations are intended to fall withinthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

In this regard because the components of FIG. 1 are shown to be embodiedin a vehicle 100, the controller 150 may be structured as an electroniccontrol module (ECM). The ECM may include a transmission control unitand any other control unit included in a vehicle (e.g., exhaustaftertreatment control unit, engine control module, powertrain controlmodule, etc.). The function and structure of the controller 150 areshown described in greater detail in FIG. 2 .

Accordingly, referring now to FIG. 2 , the function and structure of thecontroller 150 are shown according to one example embodiment. Thecontroller 150 is shown to include a processing circuit 201 including aprocessor 202 and a memory 203. The processor 202 may be implemented asa general-purpose processor, an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a group of processing components, or othersuitable electronic processing components. The one or more memorydevices 203 (e.g., NVRAM, RAM, ROM, Flash Memory, hard disk storage,etc.) may store data and/or computer code for facilitating the variousprocesses described herein. Thus, the one or more memory devices 203 maybe communicably connected to the controller 150 and provide computercode or instructions to the controller 150 for executing the processesdescribed in regard to the controller 150 herein. Moreover, the one ormore memory devices 203 may be or include tangible, non-transientvolatile memory or non-volatile memory. Accordingly, the one or morememory devices 203 may include database components, object codecomponents, script components, or any other type of informationstructure for supporting the various activities and informationstructures described herein.

The memory 203 is shown to include various modules for completing theactivities described herein. More particularly, the memory 203 includesan internal information module 204, a static information module 205, anda dynamic information module 206, all of which are communicably coupledto a battery management module 207, which is operationally andcommunicably coupled to the battery 107. The battery management module207 is shown to include a propulsion power module 208, a cost managementmodule 209, and a battery SOC module 210. Among other purposes, themodules of the memory 203 are adapted to manage a SOC of the battery 107to meet or substantially meet a requested or predicted power and energydemand at a particular location at a particular time based on at leastone piece of internal vehicle information, external static information,and external dynamic information and, in certain embodiments, based onone or more predefined desired operating parameters of the vehicle 100(e.g., minimize fuel consumption, minimize emissions, etc.). Whilevarious modules with particular functionality are shown in FIG. 2 , itshould be understood that the controller 150 and memory 203 may includeany number of modules for completing the functions described herein. Forexample, the activities of multiple modules may be combined as a singlemodule, as additional modules with additional functionality may beincluded, etc. Further, it should be understood that the controller 150may further control other vehicle activity beyond the scope of thepresent disclosure.

Certain operations of the controller 150 described herein includeoperations to interpret and/or to determine one or more parameters.Interpreting or determining, as utilized herein, includes receivingvalues by any method known in the art, including at least receivingvalues from a datalink or network communication, receiving an electronicsignal (e.g. a voltage, frequency, current, or PWM signal) indicative ofthe value, receiving a computer generated parameter indicative of thevalue, reading the value from a memory location on a non-transientcomputer readable storage medium, receiving the value as a run-timeparameter by any means known in the art, and/or by receiving a value bywhich the interpreted parameter can be calculated, and/or by referencinga default value that is interpreted to be the parameter value.

The internal information module 204 is structured to receive, gather,and/or acquire internal vehicle information. In one embodiment, theinternal information module 204 includes one or more data acquisitiondevices within the vehicle 100, such as the diagnostic and prognosticsystem 135, that facilitate acquisition of the internal vehicleinformation. In another embodiment, the internal information module 204includes communication circuitry for facilitating reception of theinternal information. In still another embodiment, the internalinformation module 204 includes machine-readable content for receivingand storing the internal vehicle information. In yet another embodiment,the internal information module 204 includes any combination of dataacquisition devices, communication circuitry, and machine readablecontent. As mentioned above, the internal information may include anytype of internal information regarding the vehicle 100 and from thevehicle 100 itself (e.g., a vehicle speed, a load on the vehicle, atorque output, a power consumption rate of one or more electrifiedaccessories, data regarding one or more aerodynamic devices, an enginetemperature, one or more fault codes or a history of fault codes, etc.).The internal information module 204 is structured to provide theacquired and/or gathered internal information to the battery managementmodule 207.

The static information module 205 is structured to receive, gather,and/or acquire external static information 220 from one or more externalstatic information sources (e.g., the map database 172) and provide ortransmit the external static information to the battery managementmodule 207. The static information module 205 may also store thereceived external static information, where the storage configurationmay be variable from application-to-application (e.g., store externalstatic information for the past thirty days, etc.). In this regard, thestatic information module 205 may correlate various pieces of staticinformation with frequently traveled routes for the vehicle 100 in orderto facilitate fast retrieval and use. For example, if an operatorfrequently travels (e.g., once a month) from Wisconsin to Florida, thestatic information may include toll locations, intersections, speedlimits, road grade, etc., for various parts along the route.Advantageously, this information may be recalled by the staticinformation module 205 to provide to the battery management module 207on-demand. As mentioned above, the static information may include anypiece of information or data that is static in nature (e.g., unchangingwith respect to location, such as the road grade or curvature at avarious location). Accordingly, the static information module 205 mayinclude communication circuitry or other communication devices thatfacilitate the acquisition and reception of the external staticinformation 220. In another embodiment, the static information module205 may include machine readable content for facilitating theacquisition and reception of the external static information 220. In yetanother embodiment, the static information module 205 may include anycombination of hardware (e.g., communication components) andmachine-readable content.

The dynamic information module 206 is structured to receive, acquire,and/or gather external dynamic information 230 from one or more externaldynamic information sources (e.g., a remote device, another vehicle, aninfrastructure component, etc.). As mentioned above, the externaldynamic information 230 may include any information or data that maychange with respect to time and distance (e.g., the weather conditionssuch as wind speed, etc.). In response, the dynamic information module206 is structured to transmit or provide the received external dynamicinformation 240 to the battery management module 207. Similar to thestatic information module 205, the dynamic information module 206 mayinclude one or more configurability options that dictate how longvarious pieces of dynamic information are stored and the rate ofacquisition thereof. For example, the wind speed may be measured at acertain rate at a certain time and location, which is stored by thedynamic information module 206. The dynamic information module 206 mayupdate the stored wind speed upon a manual update from the operator(e.g., a refresh input received via the I/O device 140) and/or upon aconfiguration that dictates or defines how often the dynamic data isprovided to the controller 150. This may change as the vehicle isoperated. In regard to the above example, the wind speed may bedifferent at different times at the same location along the route fromWisconsin to Florida. Accordingly, the dynamic information module 206 isstructured to update or trigger an update by sending an alert to thedynamic external information source in advance of the vehicle travellingto a certain location. Like the static information module 205, thedynamic information module 206 may include communication circuitry(e.g., relays, wiring, etc.) or other communication devices thatfacilitate the acquisition and reception of the external dynamicinformation 230. In another embodiment, the dynamic information module206 may include machine readable content for facilitating theacquisition and reception of the external static information 230. In yetanother embodiment, the dynamic information module 206 may include anycombination of hardware (e.g., communication components) andmachine-readable content.

In regard to either the external dynamic information or the externalstatic information, both pieces may be received by each respectivemodule 205 and 206 in advance of the vehicle 100 traveling a route orreaching a location. For example, if an operator designates a route forthe vehicle 100, then the modules 205 and 206 may provide requests tothe external static and dynamic information sources to receive the dataat various points along the route. The external dynamic information maybe periodically updated to account for changing conditions. If theoperator does not designate a route, the modules 205 and 206, based onthe current location and direction of travel of the vehicle 100, mayutilize a relatively smaller window to request static and dynamicexternal information for locations/spots/positions that the vehicle 100is likely to encounter. For example, if the operator is on a road withno turn-offs for two miles, the modules 205 and 206 can request dynamicand static external information for those two miles because thecontroller 150 may determine that the vehicle 100 must continue on thispath. If the vehicle is in a busy area in a metropolitan area where oneof several different routes may be traversed at any moment, the modules205 and 206 may employ a region or zone of interest for acquiringexternal static and dynamic information (e.g., a two square mile radiusor any predefined radius about the vehicle). The received data may thenbe correlated or associated with wherever the operator chooses to directthe vehicle 100 within that two square mile zone of interest. This zoneof interest may then move with the vehicle 100. Of course, it should beunderstood that the present disclosure contemplates other techniques,methods, and strategies that may be used to control the frequency ofexternal dynamic and static data providing based on location, such thatall possible strategies are intended to fall within the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure.

The battery management module 207 is structured to receive the externalstatic information, external dynamic information, and internalinformation to manage the battery 207. As shown, the battery managementmodule 207 includes a propulsion power module 208, a cost managementmodule 209, and a battery SOC module 210.

Before turning to the specifics of the propulsion power module 208, costmanagement module 208 and generally speaking, based on thedeterminations of the propulsion power module 208 and the costmanagement module 209, the battery SOC module 210 is structured toselectively control and manage a SOC of the battery 107. Accordingly, inone embodiment, the battery SOC module 210 includes the battery 107 andany other hardware components associated with the electrified powertrain(e.g., sensors, etc.). As such, in some embodiments, the battery SOCmodule 210 may include a battery monitoring system. In anotherembodiment, the battery SOC module 210 includes communication circuitryto provide one or more commands to the battery 107 orcharging/discharging controller operatively attached thereto. In yetanother embodiment, the battery SOC module 210 includes machine-readablecontent for facilitating the reception and provision of various commandsto control the battery 107 SOC.

To determine the battery SOC, the battery SOC module 210 may use anyconventional technique (e.g., coulomb counting, etc.). Further, thebattery SOC module 210 may manage the SOC of the battery 107 via anytechnique, such as controlling the charging current and voltage providedto the battery 107 (e.g., from regenerative braking, an alternator,another energy capture device or electrical energy providing device,etc.). Moreover, the battery SOC module 210 may also control otherelectrified accessories in the vehicle 100 in order to manage the SOC ofthe battery 107 (e.g., reduce electrical energy consumption frompre-designated non-critical components in order to conserve energy foran upcoming maneuver, etc.). In practice, the battery SOC module 210 maymanage the battery SOC in accord with one or more predefined desiredoperating characteristics (e.g., fuel economy) based on at least one ofthe internal vehicle information, external static information, andexternal dynamic information.

The propulsion power module 208 is structured to determine, estimate,calculate, and/or predict a propulsion power for the vehicle 100 at aparticular location at a particular time based on at least one of theinternal information, external static information, and external dynamicinformation. Accordingly, the propulsion power module 208 may includeone or more hardware components for facilitating determination of thepropulsion power (e.g., load sensors, torque sensors, speed sensors,vehicle mass sensors, communication circuitry for relaying acquired datato/from the module 208, etc.), machine-readable content structured tocalculate and/or determine the propulsion power, and/or some combinationtherewith.

In operation, based on the external static information, external dynamicinformation, and internal information, the propulsion power module 208is structured to determine a load on the vehicle (or, analogously, apropulsion power to propel the vehicle) at, at least one of a currentlocation and a potential future location for the vehicle and at aparticular time. To determine or calculate the propulsion power, or anestimated or predicted load on the vehicle, the propulsion power module208 may utilize one or more formulas, algorithms, processes, and thelike for determining load. One such example set of formulas are shownbelow:

P _(propulsion) =P _(eng-out) =P _(aero) +P _(drag) +P _(gravity) +P_(accl) +P _(loss) +P _(acc)  Equation (1)

In Equation (1), the power consumed for propelling a vehicleP_(propulsion), is equivalent to the power from the engine 101,P_(eng-out). P_(aero) refers to the aerodynamic power; P_(drag) refersto the power needed or substantially needed to overcome wheel drag(e.g., from the road and tire interactions); P_(accl) refers to thepower to support acceleration of the vehicle; P_(loss) refers to thelosses that may occur and that may need to be accounted for whendetermining the power to propel the vehicle at various locations; and,P_(acc) refers to the accessory power, where the accessory powerincludes electrical and mechanical accessory power.

$\begin{matrix}{P_{aero} = {\left( \frac{A \cdot C_{D} \cdot \rho \cdot u^{2}}{2} \right) \cdot u}} & {{Equation}(2)}\end{matrix}$

In Equation (2), A·C_(D) is the vehicle aerodynamic drag area (A) timesthe aerodynamic drag coefficient (C_(D)), which is a measure ofaerodynamic resistance of a cross-sectional area. The term ρ is the airdensity, and the term u is the velocity or speed of the vehicle 100. Thepower to overcome wheel drag (P_(drag)) may be calculated using Equation(3).

P _(drag)=[(C _(rr-dyn))(m·g·cos θ)(u)(C _(rr-static))(m·g·cosθ)](u)  Equation (3)

The term C_(rr-dyn) is the wheel dynamic rolling resistance and the termC_(rr-static) is the wheel static rolling resistance. The term m is themass of the vehicle 100, the term g is the acceleration due to gravity,and the term θ is a road slope. Equation (3) may be simplified to theform of Equation (4). The power required to overcome the force due togravity (P_(gravity)) may be found from Equation (4), which usespreviously defined terms.

P _(gravity)=(m·g·sin θ)(u)  Equation (4)

The power required to accelerate the vehicle 100 includes multiplecomponents, including the power required to accelerate the vehicle alone(P_(veh-accl)), the power to accelerate the wheels 402 (P_(whl-accl)),the power required to accelerate the final drive 105 (P_(FD-accl)), thepower required to accelerate the transmission 102 (P_(TX-accl)), and thepower to accelerate the engine 101 (P_(eng-accl)). The calculation isshown in Equation (5).

P _(accl) =P _(veh-accl) +P _(whl-accl) +P _(FD-accl) +P _(TX-accl) +P_(eng-accl)  Equation (5)

Each of these terms may be individually calculated. The power requiredto accelerate the vehicle (P_(veh-accl)) may be found from the vehiclemass m, the vehicle acceleration a, and the vehicle velocity u, as shownin Equation (6).

P _(veh-accl) =m·a·u  Equation (6)

The power required to accelerate the wheels (P_(whl-accl)) may be foundfrom I_(whl), which is the inertia of wheels, {dot over (ω)}_(whl),which is the angular acceleration of the wheels, and ω_(whl), which isthe angular velocity of the wheels, as shown in Equation (7).

P _(whl-accl) =I _(whl)·{dot over (ω)}_(whl)·ω_(whl)  Equation (7)

The power required to accelerate the final drive 105 (P_(FD-accl)) maybe found from I_(i) which is the inertia of the final drive 105, {dotover (ω)}_(FD), which is the final drive angular acceleration, andω_(FD), which is the final drive angular velocity, as shown in Equation(8).

P _(FD-accl) =I _(FD)·{dot over (ω)}_(FD)·ω_(FD)  Equation (8)

The power required to accelerate the transmission 102 (P_(TX-acct)) maybe found from I_(TX), which is the inertia of the transmission 102, {dotover (ω)}_(TX), which is the transmission angular acceleration, andω_(TX), which is the transmission angular velocity, as shown in Equation(9).

P _(TX-accl) =I _(FD)·{dot over (ω)}_(TX)·ω_(TX)  Equation (9)

The power required to accelerate the engine 101 (P_(eng-accl)) may befound from I_(Eng), which is the inertia of engine, {dot over(ω)}_(eng-out), which is the engine angular acceleration, andω_(eng-out), which as mentioned above is the engine angular velocity, asshown in Equation (10).

P _(eng-accl) =I _(TX)·{dot over (ω)}_(eng-out)·ω_(eng-out)  Equation(10)

Each of the angular velocities and angular accelerations may be derivedfrom data provided in the vehicle parameters in conjunction with thevehicle acceleration and velocity. The final term of Equation (1),P_(loss), is a summary of the losses that need to be overcome in thevehicle 100. These losses may be summarized as in Equation (11).

P _(loss) =P _(FD-loss) +P _(TX-loss) +P _(eng-loss)  Equation (11)

The loss from the final drive 105 (P_(FD-loss)) may be calculated fromℑ(ω_(FD-in)·τ_(FD-in)), which may be found in a lookup table of thefinal drive torque loss, and ω_(FD-in), which is the angular velocity ofthe final drive at the input, as shown in Equation (12).

P _(FD-loss)=ℑ(ω_(FD-in)·τ_(FD-in))·ω_(FD-in)  Equation (12)

The loss from the transmission 102 (P_(TX-loss)) may be calculated fromℑ(ω_(TX-in)·τ_(TX-in)), which may be found in a lookup table of thetransmission torque loss, and ω_(TX-in), which is the angular velocityof the transmission at the input, as shown in Equation (13).

P _(TX-loss)=ℑ(ω_(TX-in)·τ_(TX-in))·ω_(TX-in)  Equation (13)

The loss from the engine 101 may be calculated from ℑ(ω_(eng-out)),which is found in a lookup table of the engine torque loss, as shown inEquation (14).

P _(eng-Loss)=ℑ(ω_(eng-Out))·ω_(eng-Out)  Equation (14)

The accessory power, P_(acc), may be determined in any suitable mannerand generally refers to the power needed or substantially needed topower mechanical and electrical accessories in the vehicle. It should beunderstood that the accessory power can also include hydraulic andpneumatic accessory power as well. As mentioned above, the determinationof accessory power can be done in a variety of ways, such as watt meteror sensor for electrical accessories, a torque and speed sensor formechanical accessories, and so on. Therefore, the power consumed inpropelling the vehicle 100 may now be shown in terms of all the powersrequired, as shown in Equation (15).

P _(eng-out) =P _(aero) +P _(drag) +P _(gravity)+(P _(veh-accl) +P_(whl-accl) +P _(FD-accl) +P _(TX-accl) +P _(eng-accl))+(P _(FD-loss) +P_(TX-loss) +P _(eng-loss))+P _(acc)  Equation (15)

Even though P_(eng-loss) is shown in Equation (15), it may be accountedfor elsewhere. For example it may be integral to P_(eng-out) and may notneed to be explicitly included in Equation (15).

In regard to determining an estimated or predicted propulsion power at afuture location and time, the propulsion power module 208 may utilize avehicle speed target (u) to implement in, e.g., the aforementionedequations. The vehicle speed target may represent/coincide with theposted speed limit at that location, a speed relative to the postedspeed limit (e.g., +/−5 miles-per-hour), and/or a user-defined speed.Based on the external dynamic information, the vehicle speed target mayfurther represent/coincide with various operating conditions at theparticular location at the particular time. For example, while theposted traffic speed limit may be 65 miles-per-hour, due to a trafficjam, the average speed of the vehicles in that location is 20miles-per-hour. Accordingly, the vehicle speed target may be 20miles-per-hour or some range or tolerance associated therewith. As such,the propulsion power module 208 may dynamically adjust the propulsionpower calculation in response to static and dynamic conditions likely tobe experienced by the vehicle 100. For example, the static informationmay indicate that in 0.5 miles, the road transitions from a relativelyflat grade to a 3 percent grade. The propulsion power module 208 maythen determine the likely load on the vehicle 100 in 0.5 miles based onthis information. In another example, the static information 220 mayindicate that the speed limit is about to in 0.5 miles decrease by 30miles-per-hour while the grade stays constant. As such, the propulsionpower module 208 may determine the likely new load or required power topropel the vehicle at the new speed limit (or some predefined acceptablevariance relative to a posted speed limit) in this new location. Whilethis external static information 220 may provide an indication of staticconditions ahead of the vehicle 100, the external dynamic information230 provides an indication of conditions that may affect the load orpower determination. For example, if the posted speed limit is 65miles-per-hour, without the dynamic information, the propulsion powermodule 208 may determine the expected, predicted, or likely load at thisspeed limit. However, the dynamic information 230 may indicate anupcoming traffic jam such that the average speed of the vehicles is 15miles-per-hour. Advantageously, the propulsion power module 208 may thendetermine the load or expected load based on this dynamic information.As a result of the internal, external static, and external dynamic, thepropulsion power module 208 is able to relatively accurately determinethe power to propel the vehicle 100 at various locations and at varioustimes of travel.

It should be understood that the above formulas represent only oneexample methodology for determining the power to propel the vehicle 100.Further, these formulas may be represented in one or more look-up tablesstored by the propulsion power module 208 to facilitate relatively fastdeterminations. In other embodiments, additional and/or different powerdetermination methodologies may be employed with all such variationsintended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Based on the determined propulsion power at a likely future location ata particular time for the vehicle 100, the battery SOC module 210 isstructured to manage the SOC of the battery 107 according to an optimalmanner, where the optimal manner is based on at least one of one or morepredefined desired operating parameters. As such, management of thebattery SOC may be based on at least one of the internal vehicleinformation, external static information, and external dynamicinformation.

As an example, the internal vehicle information may indicate a usagepattern of one or more electrified accessories 190 (e.g., an aerodynamicdevice 192). For example, during this stretch of road, the operatorroutinely or typically positions the trailer fairings in this particularposition. In another example, because the outside temperature is aboveX, the operator tends to activate the A/C system. Accordingly and inregard to the active aerodynamic devices 192 example, active aerodynamicdevices use energy for actuation and save energy by modifying vehicleaerodynamics. The battery SOC module 210 may predict, estimate, and/ordetermine a need for and level of usage of these devices based on lookahead information (e.g., external static and or dynamic information) tomanage battery SOC levels to meet the demand. That is to say, thebattery SOC module 210 may manage the battery SOC levels to meet thedemand in an efficient manner such that there may not be a large energyconsumption spike or other maneuver that may adversely affect efficientoperation of the vehicle 100 at that location and time.

The need for and level of usage of these active aerodynamic devices maybe determined in a variety of manners. In one instance, if the vehiclehas already traversed a particular area, the controller 150 may recallthe energy consumption information regarding one or more of the activeaerodynamic devices during that portion and estimate that the energyconsumption is approximately equal to that recalled level. Further, thecontroller 150 may look at the recalled date to observe which deviceswere active and not active. In another instance, the controller 150 maycross-reference the determined upcoming terrain or operating conditions(e.g., based on the external static and dynamic information) withoperating conditions that are substantially similar to those upcoming.The controller 150 may then examine the active aerodynamic usage (andwhich active devices were active—to determine a whether they will likelybe used) during those conditions and approximate, estimate, or determinethat a similar usage amount is likely. In still another instance, thecontroller 150 may be predefined with energy usage level and operatingconditions where each device is likely to be active. Those of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that many other types of determinationprocedures are possible with all such intended to fall within the spiritand scope of the present disclosure.

As another example, the external static information 220 may indicate anuphill grade at the likely future location of the vehicle 100 (where,e.g., “uphill” may refer to a grade above a predefined threshold). Usingthe grade information of upcoming road segment, the propulsion powermodule 208 may determine, calculate, and/or compute an uphill powerrequirement or likely requirement of the vehicle. In response, thebattery SOC module 210 may control the battery SOC by charging thebattery 107 before arriving at the hill to meet the uphill demand (i.e.,pre-uphill charging). This charging may be based on a predefined desiredoperating parameter, such as reducing fuel economy or emissions, suchthat additional power output from the engine 101 to traverse the uphillportion may be substantially alleviated. In turn, the current orsubstantially current power output from the engine 101 and powertrainsystem 110 generally (with the additional power output from the motorgenerator 106) may remain substantially constant. According to oneembodiment, the battery 107 may be charged to meet the determinedpotential propulsion power on the uphill grade without increasing anengine output power amount (or, alternatively, changing another currentpowertrain operating characteristic). In this regard, the battery SOCmodule 210 may compare the current battery SOC to a determined SOCrequired or may be required to provide the additional power out in orderfor the engine 101 power output to remain substantially unchanged.Beneficially, this control process may reduce fuel consumption andemissions from the engine 101. In another embodiment, the battery SOCmodule 210 charges or facilitates charging of the battery 107 to meet orsubstantially meet the determined propulsion power on the uphill gradewith only an incremental increase in engine output power. Theincremental increase may refer to maintaining the same or substantiallythe same operating point on one or more engine operating maps (e.g.,torque versus speed). The incremental increase may refer to a nominalpredefined value that is based on the pre-increase engine output power(e.g., +5%, etc.). In other embodiments, the incremental increase mayrefer to a relative increase in engine temperature, engine fueling,emissions, and so on. Of course, those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the “incremental increase” is meant to be broadlyinterpreted.

As another example, the external static information 220 may indicate anincrease in speed for the vehicle 100 at the likely future location ofthe vehicle 100. Based on external static information alone, theincrease in speed change be based on a change in a posted speed limit ora grade condition. Using the speed limit information of upcoming roadsegment, the propulsion power module 208 may determine a powerrequirement of the vehicle to adjust the speed to the new increasedspeed. In response and in regard to a new speed being greater than acurrent speed, the battery SOC module 210 may control the battery 107SOC by charging the battery 107 before arriving at the speed limitchange to meet the acceleration demand (i.e., pre-upspeed charging).Again, this charging may be based on one or more desired operatingparameters, such that the power split between the battery and the engineare adjusted (and the SOC managed) in accord with that desired operatingparameter(s) (e.g., to conserve fuel for the engine 101 to implicate thepre-upspeed charging subsequent discharging during traversal of theup-speed portion). According to one embodiment, the battery 107 may becharged to meet the determined potential propulsion power for theupspeed region without increasing an engine output power amount (or,alternatively, changing another current powertrain operatingcharacteristic). In this regard, the battery SOC module 210 may comparethe current battery SOC to a determined SOC required or may be requiredto provide the additional power out in order for the engine 101 poweroutput to remain substantially unchanged. Beneficially, this controlprocess may reduce fuel consumption and emissions from the engine 101.In other embodiments, an incremental increase in engine output power maybe permitted, where an incremental increase has the same or similardefinitions as described above.

As still another example, the external static information 220 mayindicate a downhill grade at the likely future location of the vehicle100 (where, e.g., “downhill” may be defined based on one or morethresholds). Using the grade information regarding the upcoming roadsegment, the propulsion power module 208 may determine an availableamount of vehicle potential energy and/or braking energy during thedownhill section. For example, due to the downhill section, thepropulsion power module 208 may determine that the brakes may beutilized for a duration of time corresponding with the speed of thevehicle in connection with the length of the downhill. As such, usingone or more tables, formulas, correlations, etc., the propulsion powermodule 208 may determine an expected potential amount of energy that maybe captured from the braking (e.g., via a regenerative braking device).In response, the battery SOC module 210 may control the battery SOC bydischarging the battery 107 before arriving at the downhill section ofthe road to capture the maximum amount of that regenerated energy (i.e.,pre-downhill discharging of the battery 107). Advantageously, thepre-downhill discharging may correspond with a route segment or locationthat would otherwise (i.e., during conventional operation) have beenpowered by only the engine 101. As such, this power boost may reducefuel consumption, emissions, and wear/tear on the engine 101.

As yet another example, the external static information 220 may indicatea decrease in vehicle speed condition existing at the likely futurelocation of the vehicle 100. Using the speed limit information ofupcoming road segment, the propulsion power module 208 may compute anavailable amount of vehicle kinetic energy and/or braking energyavailable during the deceleration section (e.g., using the same orsimilar principles as described above with respect to the regenerativebraking device). In response, the battery SOC module 210 may control thebattery SOC by discharging the battery before arriving at thedeceleration (i.e., down speed) section of the route to capture amaximum or nearly maximum amount of that regenerated energy (i.e.,pre-down speed discharging). Advantageously, as in the above example,the battery SOC module 210 may direct and facilitate discharging of thebattery 107 to, e.g., power the motor generator 106 at a route locationthat would typically or otherwise not receive this additional powerboost. As such, a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions may berealized.

As still a further example, at least one of the external static anddynamic information 220, 230 may indicate a regulated upcoming zone orregion for the vehicle 100. Knowledge of the path of the vehicle 100 andsurrounding/accompanying regulations may provide an indication of atleast one of a noise threshold, a low/zero emissions regions, an enginebraking circumstance (e.g., no engine braking for this stretch of land),and the like. In response, the propulsion power module 208 may predict,estimate, and/or determine an energy requirement of the vehicle while inthat zone (e.g., the power required or substantially required totraverse that region at the target vehicle speed). The battery SOCmodule 210 may predict, determine, and/or calculate an electrical energyrequirement to meet the zone regulations and the vehicle demand. Forexample, due to a low noise requirement, the battery SOC module 210 maydetermine that the motor generator 106 should provide additional powerthrough this region to reduce power and potential noise excursions fromthe engine 101. In another example, in a no engine braking region, thebattery SOC module 210 may determine that that a relatively lesseramount of energy capture opportunities (e.g., via regenerative braking)may be provided such that the energy from the battery 107 should beconserved for potentially critical maneuvers. As such, the power splitmay favor the engine 101 in this case. Accordingly, the battery SOCmodule 210 may control and/or manage the battery 107 SOC by selectivelycharging/discharging the battery and managing power generation andconsumption of the battery during the trip segment before entering theregulated zone.

As another example and in regard to primarily external dynamicinformation 230, the external dynamic information 230 may provide anindication of one or more traffic conditions at a likely future locationof the vehicle 100. The dynamic information 230 may provide anindication of traffic conditions such as a traffic density, an averagevehicle speeds, a congestion amount, information available throughvehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-X communication, etc. The propulsionpower module 208 may use this information to predict driver behavior, avehicle power requirement, a vehicle speed (e.g., a target vehicle speedfor use in determining the power requirement), etc. With thisdetermination/prediction, the battery SOC module 210 may prepare thevehicle battery 107 to meet the predicted demand by pre-traffic chargingor discharging of the battery 107 to a calculated, determined, orestimated SOC level.

As yet a further example and still in regard to primarily externaldynamic information, the external dynamic information 230 may indicate aweather condition that may affect operation of the vehicle.Determination of whether the weather condition (or other externaldynamic information) will affect operation of the vehicle is a highlyconfigurable parameter. For example, “affect operation” may mean thatthe vehicle speed will decrease by a predefined percentage of thecurrent speed (e.g., by more than ten percent); “affect operation” maybe based on a predefined threshold indicative of “affecting operation”conditions (e.g., wind speeds above X miles-per-hour); based on anexplicit input from the operator; and so on. Thus, “affect operation” ismeant to be highly configurable and may change fromapplication-to-application. The indicated weather condition may include,but is not limited to, a presence of at least one of rain, ice, snow,etc. that may be used to determine induced road grades and speed limitzones. In response, the battery SOC module 210 may prepare the battery107 by achieving a calculated SOC by selectively charging or dischargingthe battery 107 before such conditions occur. For example, in icyconditions, a turn may induce braking events which does not occur innormal conditions. In still another example, anticipation andcancellation of trailer sway using in wheel motors may be implemented.

As still another example, the battery SOC module 210 may manage thebattery 107 SOC based on a determined or predicted amount of brakingenergy (i.e., to charge the battery 107) from one or more energy brakingmechanisms based on at least of the internal vehicle information,external static information, and external dynamic information. In thisregard, “braking energy” refers to energy generated, produced, orotherwise captured during a braking event that may be useable with thebattery 107 to, e.g., charge the battery 107 and manage the SOC. Thebraking energy may be produced or captured from a variety of brakingmechanisms included with the vehicle. A non-exhaustive list of brakingmechanisms includes friction braking, engine braking, and regenerativebraking. Friction braking refers to braking caused by, e.g., drum ordisk brake application. Engine braking, also referred to as “jakebraking,” refers to the closed or mostly closed throttle position inpetrol engines when the accelerator pedal is released and refers to theopening of an exhaust valve(s) to release compression gases in a dieselengine. Regenerative braking, as described herein above, refers to anenergy recovery device (e.g., an electric motor, an electricmotor/generator unit, etc.) that converts and stores energy or someenergy during braking rather than that energy being dissipated as, e.g.,heat. It should be understood that the aforementioned list of brakingdevices/mechanisms is not meant to be exhaustive as the presentdisclosure contemplates other and additional types of braking mechanismsthat are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Inoperation, the battery SOC module 210 may modulate or control activationof these braking mechanisms to manage the SOC of the battery 107.

As an example of this braking mechanism modulation to manage SOC of thebattery 107, the battery SOC module 210 may compare the current batterySOC level to one or more threshold levels (e.g., a maximum SOC level, aminimum SOC level, a level for a predefined condition such as an uphillor downhill grade, etc.). Further, one or more algorithms, look-uptables, and the like may be included with the battery SOC module 210that define, predict, or otherwise estimate an approximate “brakingenergy capture amount” for various particular operating conditions. Forexample, at 30 MPH and an uphill grade of 2%, the braking energy captureamount for regenerative braking is X kilowatt hours whereas the brakingenergy capture amount for another braking device may be X-50 kilowatthours. In this regard, in one embodiment, knowledge of the captureamounts for various braking devices can be predefined in the battery SOCmodule 210. In other embodiment, the battery SOC module 210 may trackenergy capture amounts from each braking mechanism and create a tablethat includes an energy capture amount estimate for a braking mechanism(e.g., regenerative braking) at a particular operating condition. As aresult, as the vehicle is operated, the table will become morefull/populated to, beneficially, be tailored to the particular drivingcharacteristics (e.g., hard-braking, hard turns, etc.) of the operatorand specific to that vehicle. In another embodiment, a combination ofpredefined energy capture amounts for specific braking devices atparticular conditions and the aforementioned data-collection techniquemay be used to populate a table for reference or use by the battery SOCmodule 210. As a result, the battery SOC module 210 may estimate,determine, predict, etc. an approximate energy capture amount from aparticular braking mechanism based on one or more upcoming or currentconditions along a route based on internal vehicle information, externalstatic information, and/or external dynamic information.

As an example, external static information may indicate an upcomingdownhill grade while internal vehicle information indicates that thebattery SOC is below a predefined minimum SOC threshold. Becauseregenerative braking may have the highest yield of the braking devices(i.e., most energy capture ability) based on information containedwithin the battery SOC module 210 (e.g., one or more look-up tables orother information storage techniques that indicate a capture amount ator close to the upcoming downhill grade for a particular vehicle speed),the battery SOC module 210 may activate and prioritize the regenerativebraking mechanism over other braking mechanisms in order to increase theSOC to at or above the predefined minimum threshold.

As another example, the external dynamic information may indicateupcoming headwinds that may require additional power to maintain adesired vehicle speed, which in this example is the posted speed limitin that region. However, the battery SOC is below a predefinedthreshold. As a result, the battery SOC module 210 may manage a brakingmechanism(s) in advance of the headwind section to charge the batteryabove a desired SOC threshold, such that the battery may be dischargedduring that region to provide a “boost” of energy to maintain thedesired vehicle speed against the headwind conditions.

Thus, the battery SOC module 210 may manage, modulate, and prioritizevarious braking mechanism to manage a SOC of the battery for systemoptimization (e.g., maintaining a desired vehicle speed, minimizingemissions, etc.).

It should be understood that the aforementioned examples are not meantto be limiting and only represent a few instances of how the batterymanagement module 207 of the present disclosure may beneficially managethe SOC levels of the battery 107 to efficiently or optimally controlthe vehicle 100 based on one or more predefined desired operatingparameters for the vehicle 100.

In this regard, the cost management module 209 may be structured to useat least one of the piece of external dynamic information 230 regardingat least one of a market characteristic and regulation to reduce and/oroptimize a cost of operation of the vehicle 100. For example, the marketcharacteristics and regulation may provide an indication of at least oneof a regional electricity costs, a fuel costs, an emission regulation(e.g., CO2 regulations), and so on. Based on at least one of thesemarket costs and regulations, the battery SOC module 210 may proactivelymanage the battery SOC levels to optimize/reduce the total cost ofoperation over a daily mission. In this regard, the battery SOC module210 may decide and plan for vehicle charging locations and rates. Thebattery SOC module 210 may also utilize geographical and time basedvariation in electricity prices and fuel costs (e.g. a line haul trucktravelling across states/regions). As an example, the external dynamicinformation 230 may indicate fuel costs for three locations over thenext three miles of a route. The external dynamic information 230 mayalso indicate that one of the locations has an electricity charginglocation. Accordingly, the battery SOC module 210 may select thatlocation as a potential “fill-up” location in order to improveefficiency by having the ability to obtain both fuel and electricity.This may be the case for each of the three locations having the samefuel cost or even if the chosen location has a higher fuel cost due tothe convenience of obtaining both during one stop. Similarly, based onthe ability to charge at that location, the battery SOC module 210 mayselectively command discharging of the battery 107 to take advantage ofthe relatively close fill-up location. Beneficially, these dischargesmay offset power requirements from the engine 101 to reduce emissionsand/or fuel consumption.

While the battery management module 207 is described above in regard tothe propulsion power module 208 and cost management module 209, due tothe connectivity of the vehicle 100, in some embodiments, the batterymanagement 207 may receive remote instructions. The remote instructionsmay be provided by an external information providing source, such as atelematics provider. The remote instructions may prescribe and controlreference set points for the battery 107 (e.g., a nominal SOC, a minimumSOC, a maximum SOC, etc.) based on, e.g., weather, for route planning, avehicle history, a prognosis, a time of day, a day of year, a localevent, a power grid status and pricing (e.g., a location of chargingnodes on the power grid, a price of electrical energy at each node or asubset of nodes because pricing may differ from node-to-node), etc.Advantageously, this capability may be utilized to improve fleetmanagement.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , a method of controlling the power splitbetween an internal combustion engine and an electric motor viamanagement of a battery state of charge in a vehicle is shown accordingto an example embodiment. Because method 300 may be implemented with thecontroller 150 and in the system 50, reference may be made to one ormore features of the controller 150 and the system 50 to explain method300.

At process 301, internal vehicle information, external staticinformation, and external dynamic information for a vehicle is received.The interval vehicle information, external static information, andexternal dynamic information may have the same definition as describedherein above.

At process 302, a propulsion power for the vehicle is predicted,determined, and/or estimated based on the internal vehicle information,external static information, and external dynamic information. Thisprocess may be implemented at one or more locations and at one or moretimes of travel for the vehicle 100.

At process 303, a battery SOC is determined for vehicle. In this regard,the SOC may be determined using any piece of battery data and via anyprocess, as described above in regard to the battery SOC module 210(e.g., coulomb counting).

At process 304, the battery SOC is managed (e.g., via the battery SOCmodule 210) based on the determined propulsion power and the batterySOC. The battery SOC may be managed in accord with one or morepredefined desired operating parameters of the vehicle. In this regard,an optimal split of power output from the battery and engine may beimplemented. For example, the battery SOC may be managed in response toan upcoming uphill grade or increased speed region to ensure that thebattery may be discharged during the uphill grade or increased speedregion to provide additional power output to the vehicle 100 and reducereliance on the engine to, in turn, reduce fuel consumption andemissions.

While process 300 facilitates using the battery SOC to adjust tochanging acceleration demands in advanced of traveling a particularroute, the battery SOC may also be managed in accord with one or moremarket characteristics and/or market regulations. Referring now to FIG.4 , a flow diagram of a method of managing a battery SOC in response toone or more pieces of external dynamic information is shown, accordingto one embodiment.

At process 401, external dynamic information for a vehicle indicative ofat least one of a market characteristic and a regulation is received. Inresponse, at process 402, the SOC of a battery of the vehicle ismanaged. The SOC may be managed based on market characteristics, such asfuel costs, and market regulations, such as emission requirements. Forexample, for a route of the vehicle, the next fifty miles correspondswith a relatively higher fuel cost than for ten miles following thatstretch. Accordingly, the battery SOC may be managed to facilitaterelatively more discharging during this stretch to provide an enhancedpower output to reduce reliance on the engine and the need or potentialneed to fill up with the relatively more expensive fuel. As anotherexample, electricity costs that may be used to charge the battery maydiffer along a route: $X for the first fifty miles and $X+10 for thenext 100 hundred miles. Accordingly, the battery SOC module may managethe SOC of the battery to take advantage of the relatively lower costfor electricity during the first fifty miles to reduce the need forcharging during the next 100 miles (e.g., in a hybrid vehicle, thebattery SOC module may reduce the need to charge the vehicle from one ormore external grid charging nodes). In still another example, if themarket regulation is a relatively stringent emissions requirement, thebattery SOC module may facilitate charging before that region in orderto facilitate discharging during that region to reduce at least some ofthe reliance on the engine in order to reduce emissions. In yet anotherexample, the market regulation may be a permissible noise level (e.g.,an indication that no engine braking is permitted, an actual allowabledecibel amount, etc.). In response, the battery SOC module mayfacilitate relatively more battery discharging during this zone toreduce reliance on the engine in order to meet or substantially meet thepermissible vehicle noise level. Thus, process 400 may reduce theoperational cost of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, process 400 may include process 403, where one ormore reference points for the battery are adjusted/managed in responseto at least one of the internal and external static and dynamic piecesof information. By adjusting the reference points (e.g., nominal SOC,maximum SOC, minimum SOC, etc.), process 403 may effectively control theenergy discharge and charge ability of the battery responsive to staticand dynamic operating conditions for the vehicle.

Due to the connectivity with a remote source (e.g., the external dynamicsource or static source from FIG. 1 ), in one embodiment, wherein thecalibration set point is determined by a remote cloud based controller(i.e., a controller for at least one of the external dynamic source andstatic information source) using the external dynamic information,external static information, and internal information. The remote cloudbased controller may then transmit the determined calibration set pointto the vehicle of interest to selectively adjust set points in eachvehicle that is a part of the environment. Beneficially, custom controlis provided for each vehicle in the environment to improve performanceof each vehicle and, if a fleet embodiment, for the fleet in general.

It should be noted that the processes of the methods described hereinmay be utilized with the other methods, although described in regard toa particular method. It should further be noted that the term “example”as used herein to describe various embodiments is intended to indicatethat such embodiments are possible examples, representations, and/orillustrations of possible embodiments (and such term is not intended toconnote that such embodiments are necessarily extraordinary orsuperlative examples).

Example and non-limiting module implementation elements include sensors(e.g., coupled to the components and/or systems in FIG. 1 ) providingany value determined herein, sensors providing any value that is aprecursor to a value determined herein, datalink and/or network hardwareincluding communication chips, oscillating crystals, communicationlinks, cables, twisted pair wiring, coaxial wiring, shielded wiring,transmitters, receivers, and/or transceivers, logic circuits, hard-wiredlogic circuits, reconfigurable logic circuits in a particularnon-transient state configured according to the module specification,any actuator including at least an electrical, hydraulic, or pneumaticactuator, a solenoid, an op-amp, analog control elements (springs,filters, integrators, adders, dividers, gain elements), and/or digitalcontrol elements.

The schematic flow chart diagrams and method schematic diagramsdescribed above are generally set forth as logical flow chart diagrams.As such, the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative ofrepresentative embodiments. Other steps, orderings and methods may beconceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one ormore steps, or portions thereof, of the methods illustrated in theschematic diagrams.

Additionally, the format and symbols employed are provided to explainthe logical steps of the schematic diagrams and are understood not tolimit the scope of the methods illustrated by the diagrams. Althoughvarious arrow types and line types may be employed in the schematicdiagrams, they are understood not to limit the scope of thecorresponding methods. Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may beused to indicate only the logical flow of a method. For instance, anarrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecifiedduration between enumerated steps of a depicted method. Additionally,the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictlyadhere to the order of the corresponding steps shown. It will also benoted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart diagrams,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartdiagrams, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systemsthat perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of specialpurpose hardware and program code.

Many of the functional units described in this specification have beenlabeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize theirimplementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented asa hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays,off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or otherdiscrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmablehardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmablearray logic, programmable logic devices or the like.

Modules may also be implemented in machine-readable medium for executionby various types of processors. An identified module of executable codemay, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks ofcomputer instructions, which may, for instance, be organized as anobject, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of anidentified module need not be physically located together, but maycomprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which,when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve thestated purpose for the module.

Indeed, a module of computer readable program code may be a singleinstruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed overseveral different code segments, among different programs, and acrossseveral memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identifiedand illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in anysuitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure.The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may bedistributed over different locations including over different storagedevices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signalson a system or network. Where a module or portions of a module areimplemented in machine-readable medium (or computer-readable medium),the computer readable program code may be stored and/or propagated on inone or more computer readable medium(s).

The computer readable medium may be a tangible computer readable storagemedium storing the computer readable program code. The computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, holographic,micromechanical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing.

More specific examples of the computer readable medium may include butare not limited to a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a portable compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc (DVD), an opticalstorage device, a magnetic storage device, a holographic storage medium,a micromechanical storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, and/or storecomputer readable program code for use by and/or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The computer readable medium may also be a computer readable signalmedium. A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated datasignal with computer readable program code embodied therein, forexample, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagatedsignal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limitedto, electrical, electro-magnetic, magnetic, optical, or any suitablecombination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be anycomputer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage mediumand that can communicate, propagate, or transport computer readableprogram code for use by or in connection with an instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device. Computer readable program code embodied ona computer readable signal medium may be transmitted using anyappropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, Radio Frequency (RF), or the like, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing

In one embodiment, the computer readable medium may comprise acombination of one or more computer readable storage mediums and one ormore computer readable signal mediums. For example, computer readableprogram code may be both propagated as an electro-magnetic signalthrough a fiber optic cable for execution by a processor and stored onRAM storage device for execution by the processor.

Computer readable program code for carrying out operations for aspectsof the present invention may be written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languageor similar programming languages. The computer readable program code mayexecute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer,as a stand-alone computer-readable package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

The program code may also be stored in a computer readable medium thatcan direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, orother devices to function in a particular manner, such that theinstructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an articleof manufacture including instructions which implement the function/actspecified in the schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic blockdiagrams block or blocks.

Accordingly, the present disclosure may be embodied in other specificforms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics.The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only asillustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure is,therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a processing circuithaving at least one processor coupled to a memory storing instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the processingcircuit to: determine an estimated propulsion power for a hybrid vehicleat a future location of a route of the hybrid vehicle at a future timebased on at least one of internal information regarding the hybridvehicle, external static information regarding the route of the hybridvehicle, or external dynamic information regarding one or more upcomingpotential conditions along the route of the hybrid vehicle; determine acurrent state of charge of a battery of the hybrid vehicle; determine adesired state of charge of the battery of the hybrid vehicle at thefuture location to meet the estimated propulsion power for the hybridvehicle at the future location without substantially changing an outputpower of an engine of the hybrid vehicle; and facilitate charging of thebattery of the hybrid vehicle to achieve the desired state of charge ofthe battery of the hybrid vehicle at the future location withoutsubstantially changing the output power of the engine of the hybridvehicle.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in facilitating thecharging of the battery of the hybrid vehicle the instructions, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the processing circuit tosubstantially maintain an engine operating point of the hybrid vehicle.3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the processing circuit to determinethe estimated propulsion power using an expected speed of the hybridvehicle.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the expected speed of thevehicle is one of: a speed limit associated with the route of the hybridvehicle; or a speed determined based on the external dynamic informationregarding the one or more upcoming potential conditions along the routeof the hybrid vehicle.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the futurelocation is associated with an uphill grade and wherein theinstructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause theprocessing circuit to: facilitate a charging of the battery in advanceof the uphill grade.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the estimatedpropulsion power includes propulsion power to traverse an uphill.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the estimated propulsion power representsengine output power of the hybrid vehicle.
 8. A method, comprising:determining, by a controller, an estimated propulsion power for avehicle at a future location of a route of the vehicle at a future timebased on at least one of internal information regarding the vehicle,external static information regarding the route of the vehicle, orexternal dynamic information regarding one or more upcoming potentialconditions along the route of the vehicle; determining, by thecontroller, a current state of charge of a battery of the vehicle;determining, by the controller, a desired state of charge of the batteryof the vehicle at the future location without substantially changing anoutput power of an engine of the vehicle; and facilitating, by thecontroller, charging of the battery of the vehicle to achieve thedesired state of charge of the battery of the vehicle at the futurelocation without substantially changing the output power of the engineof the vehicle.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein facilitating thecharging of the battery of the vehicle includes substantiallymaintaining an engine operating point of the vehicle.
 10. The method ofclaim 8, comprising determining the estimated propulsion power using anexpected speed of the vehicle.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein theexpected speed of the vehicle is one of: a speed limit associated withthe route of the vehicle; or a speed determined based on the externaldynamic information regarding the one or more upcoming potentialconditions along the route of the vehicle.
 12. The method of claim 8,wherein the future location is associated with an uphill grade and themethod further comprises facilitating, by the controller, the chargingof the battery in advance of the uphill grade.
 13. The method of claim8, wherein the estimated propulsion power includes propulsion power totraverse an uphill section of the route.
 14. The method of claim 8,wherein the estimated propulsion power represents an engine output powerof the vehicle.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer code instructions thereon, the computer code instructions, whenexecuted by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors toperform operations comprising: determining an estimated propulsion powerfor a vehicle at a future location of a route of the vehicle at a futuretime based on at least one of internal information regarding thevehicle, external static information regarding the route of the vehicle,or external dynamic information regarding one or more upcoming potentialconditions along the route of the vehicle; determining a current stateof charge of a battery of the vehicle; determining a desired state ofcharge of the battery of the vehicle at the future location to meet theestimated propulsion power for the vehicle at the future locationwithout substantially changing an output power of an engine of thevehicle; and facilitating a charging of the battery of the vehicle toachieve the desired state of charge of the battery of the vehicle at thefuture location without substantially changing the output power of theengine of the vehicle.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 15, wherein in facilitating the charging of the battery of thevehicle the computer code instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising substantially maintaining an engine operating point of thevehicle.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the computer code instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, further cause the one or more processors to performoperations comprising determining the estimated propulsion power usingan expected speed of the vehicle.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the future location isassociated with an uphill grade and the facilitating of the charging ofthe battery occurs in advance of the uphill grade.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein theestimated propulsion power includes propulsion power to traverse anuphill section of the route.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the estimated propulsion power represents anengine output power of the vehicle.